Drawer slide



June 1963 v. K. FREMSTAD ETAL 3,094,

DRAWER SLIDE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 16, 1961 INVENTORS l/xurs K.FREMSTAD, HOWARD 5. GORTON AWOA/EY United States Patent 3,094,363 DRAWERSLIDE Viles K. Fremstad, Whittier, and Howard B. Gorton,

West Covina, Calif., assignors to Ajax Hardware Manufacturing Corp.,City of Industry, Califi, a corporation of California Filed Jan. 16,1961, Ser. No. 82,758 Claims. (Cl. 312-343) This invention relates to adrawer guide or slide adapted to be installed in kitchen cabinets or thelike and to function as a slide which will facilitate the smooth andrelatively frictionless movement of a drawer installed in a cabinet orthe like.

Large numbers of drawer slides of the general character of thatdisclosed herein are utilized in kitchen cabinets and the like to bothguide the associated drawer during movement and to accomplish therelatively smooth movement thereof in and out of the associated draweropening which is provided in the front of the cabinet.

It is, therefore, an object of our invention to provide a single trackdrawer slide which is characterized by the fact that it may be readilyand easily installed in conjunction with a drawer and the cabinetaccommodating the same and which, in addition, will also permit thedrawer to be moved easily and quietly in the drawer opening in thecabinet.

Since large numbers of drawer slides must be mounted in association withdrawers and the cabinets therefor, it is essential that the slides beinstalled as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Another object of our invention is a drawer slide of the aforementionedcharacter which can be installed with a minimum expenditure of time andlabor and which can also be installed in different types ofconstructions without the modification of any component thereof.

Since conventional drawer slides and the drawer slide of the presentinvention are made out of relatively light sheet metal, it is desirablethat rattling of the component parts thereof be eliminated in order toavoid undesirable noise during the opening and closing of the drawer.

A further object of our invention is the provision of a drawer slide ofthe aforementioned character in which the component parts thereof and,particularly, the track are mounted rigidly in conjunction with oneanother to avoid the objectionable noise and rattling characteristic ofprior art devices.

Another aspect of the drawer slide construction of the invention whichfacilitates the installation of the component parts thereof is theprovision of mounting brackets at the front of the drawer slide at thedrawer opening which incorporate fastener receiving openings urroundedby countersinks inclined toward the front of the drawer receivingopening so that a long handle screwdriver or other fastener driving toolmay be adequately used at a practical angle in driving screws into theassociated bracket.

In addition, the front mounting bracket for the track is provided with arigidifying bead which tends to resist torsional loads imposed upon thetrack when the drawer is pulled out of the drawer receiving opening toan extent which would impose torsional and bending loads upon the trackand, thus, upon the front bracket.

A further object of our invention is the provision, in a drawer slide ofthe aforementioned character, of a roller mounting bracket which has itslower extremity displaced rearwardly of the back of the associateddrawer so that the roller mounted upon said extremity may engage theroller opening in the track which is spaced a considerable distancerearwardly of the drawer opening.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing specification and the accom- 3,094,363 Patented June 18, 1963panying drawings, which are for the purpose of illustration only and inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the drawer slide mountedin conjunction with a conventional drawer and cabinet construction;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the broken line 22 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the broken line 33 of FIG.1;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the broken line 4-4 of FIG.1;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the broken line 55 of FIG.1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view of the front trackbracket and one guide means;

FIG. 7 is a transverse sectional view taken on the broken line 7-7 ofFIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken on the broken line 88 ofFIG. 6; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the back track bracket.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1-3 thereof, we showa drawer slide construction 10 adapted to be utilized in conjunctionwith a drawer 12 which, in the present case, is fabricated from wood andincludes a front 14, a back 16, ide walls 18 and a bottom 20. The drawer12 is mounted in a drawer receiving opening 22 provided in a frontsupport or face frame 24 which may constitute the front of a cabinet,not shown in its entirety here. A rear support 26 is provided in spacedrelationship with the front support 24. The rear support 26 mayconstitute the back of the cabinet or may be simply a part of theadjacent wall area, a tringer or the like.

Mounted on the front support or face frame 24 is a front track bracket30 which has a mounting flange 32 disposed in overlying relationshipwith the bottom of the drawer receiving opening 22 and whichincorporates fastener receiving openings 34 surrounded by countersinks36 which, as best shown in FIGS. 6-7 of the drawings, are angularlyoriented toward the front of the drawer receiving opening 22 tofacilitate the driving of screws 38 or other suitable fasteners throughthe openings 34 and into the wood of the front support 24. The mountingflange 32 is provided with a stiffening head 40 adapted to resisttorsional and bending loads imposed thereupon, in a manner to bedescribed in greater detail below.

Formed integrally with the mounting flange 32 of the front bracket 30 isa depending plate 42 which overlies the rear wall of the front support24 and which has a rearwardly extending projection 44 formed thereuponhaving a hook 46 on its upper edge, for a purpose which will bedescribed in greater detail below.

A rear mounting bracket 50 is secured to the rear support 26 andincludes a substantially L-shaped plate 52 incorporating mountingopenings 54, also of L-shaped configuration, which are arranged with twoof the openings at the top leg of the L-shaped mounting plate 52 and oneat the bottom thereof, as best shown in FIGS. 5 and 9 of the drawings.Screws 56, or similar fasteners, are inserted through the openings 54 tomount the rear bracket 50 on th ear support 26.

Formed integrally with the mounting plate 52 of the rear bracket 50 isan outwardly directed mounting arm 58, the depending portion of whichis, as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 9 of the drawings, sprung outwardly andprovided with a hexagonal track receiving opening 62, as best shown inFIGS. 5 and 9 of the drawings.

Demountably supported upon the front and rear mounting brackets 30 and50, respectively, is a roller receiving track 70, said traok beingconstituted by a sheet metal channel 72 having a fiat side wall 74 andangular top and bottom walls 76 and 78, respectively. The channo! 72 isopen at the left-hand side as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawings,and the rear extremity thereof is received in the opening 62 in themounting arm 58.

The outward bias of the arm 58 causes the upper and lower walls of theopening 62 to bind upon the perimeter of the channel 72 to lock itagainst movement or rattling therein. The forward extremity of thechannel 72 and, more particularly, the top wall 76 thereof, is providedwith a roller receiving opening 82 whose front edge incorporates a slot84 for the reception of the hook 46 on the rearwardly extendingprojection, as best shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings.

Therefore, when the forward extremity of the channel 72 constituting thetrack 70 is fitted over the rearwardly extending projection 44 on thefront mounting bracket 30, the hook 46 engages in the slot 84. Inaddition, the vertical dimension of the rearwardly extending projection44 is such that it creates an interference fit with the top and bottomwalls 76 and 78, respectively, of the channel 72. Therefore, the wedgingengagement of the rear extremity of the track 70 in the opening 62 ofthe mounting arm 58 and the interference fit of the forward extremity ofsaid track on the projection 44 serves to stabilize the track locking itagainst movement which might cause rattling and unpleasant noise.

The bracket may be mounted to the front face frame or support 24 beforethe track 70 is attached. The installer thus does not need to supportthe track 70 while attaching the bracket 30.

Secured to the bottom of the drawer receiving opening 22 adjacent thesides of the opening are guides 90, each guide including a sheet metalguide mount 92 which is adapted to support a guide roller 94 having abeveled flange 96 engageable with the adjacent portion of the side 18 ofthe drawer 12. Each guide mount 92 has a mounting flange 98 thereuponwhich, as best shown in FIGS. 2, 6 and 8 of the drawings, includes afastener receiving opening 102 encompassed by a countersink 104 which isangularly oriented toward the front of the front support 24 in the samemanner as countersinks 36 in the mounting flange of the bracket 30.

Screws 106 engage the countersinks 104 in the mounts 92 to secure themto the front support 24. Therefore, when the drawer 12 is moved in thedrawer receiving opening 22, the beveled flanges 96 ten-d to center thedrawer 12 and to support it in spaced relationship with the bottom ofthe drawer receiving opening 22 in the front support 24.

Secured to the back wall 16 of the drawer 12 is a roller mountingbracket 110 which has a mounting plate 112 engaged by screws 114. Formedintegrally with the mounting plate 112 is a depending leg 116 which, asbest shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, is angularly oriented to locateits lower extremity rearwardly of the back 16 of the drawer 12 adistance greater than that between the front edge of the rollerreceiving opening 82 and the rear edge of the drawer receiving opening22.

A roller 120 is mounted for rotation on the lower extremity of the leg116 and has a tread 122 of a configuration corresponding generally tothe configuration of the top and bottom walls 76 and 78 of the channel72 constituting the track 70. The tread configuration results inself-centering of the roller 120 in the track 70. Therefore, the roller120 can be inserted through the roller receiving opening 82 and thusengaged upon the top and bottom walls 76 and 78. Since the angular andrearward orientation of the leg 116 locates the roller 120 rearwardly ofthe back 16 of the drawer 12, insertion of the roller 120 through theroller receiving opening 82 in the top wall 76 of the track 70 isfacilitated, particularly in installations where the drawer is locatedin close proximity to a floor surface which limits the extent to whichthe back 16 may be rotated upwardly to release the roller 120 from thetrack 70. Moreover, the

rearward location of the roller allows the drawer 1.2 to be removed witha minimal clearance in the opening 22 in the front frame or support 24.

In order that a person pulling the drawer l2 outwardly from the opening22 may be aware of the approach of the rear extremity or back 16 of thedrawer to the opening 22, a signal protrusion is provided in the upperwall 76 and a corresponding depression 132 is provided in the bottomwall 78 of the channel 72 constituting the track 70, as best shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings. Therefore, when the roller 120 engagesthe signal protrusion 130, as best shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, anauditory and tactile signal is provided which indicates that the drawer12 is reaching the outer limit of its movement from the drawer opening22.

During movement of the drawer 12, the track 70 is restrained againstrattling by the interference fit of its forward extremity on theprojection 44 of the front bracket 30 and by the spring wedge lock onthe rearward extremity of the track 70 provided by the mounting arm 58.In addition, the guide rollers 94 serve to orient the drawer 12 andmaintain it on the center with the track 70.

If, at the outward limit of its movement, the drawer 12 is subjected totorsional loads imparted to the track through the leg 116 on the bracket110 and the associated roller 120, the stiffening bead 40 on the frontbracket 30 enables the bracket 30 to sustain such torsional loads. Inaddition, the particular configuration of the rear track mountingbracket 50 permits the track to be mounted in a variety ofinstallations. For instance, the plate 52 thereof can be mounted inoverlying relationship with the support 26, as illustrated in FIG. 5 ofthe drawings.

Furthermore, the upper edge of the plate can be secured to a horizontalsupport with the arm 58 and the lower edge of the plate depending belowthe support. In another method of installation the plate can be securedto the back of a vertical support with the arm 58 lying adjacent theside of the support. In still another method of installation theright-hand edge of the plate can be secured to a vertical support withthe left-hand edge of said plate and the arm 58 disposed to the left tothe support.

Moreover, the inclination of the countersinks in the front bracket 30and mounts 92 of the guide means 90 facilitates the expeditiousinstallation of the bracket and mounts. In addition, the L-shapedopenings 54 in the plate 52 of the rear bracket 50 facilitate thelocation of the rear bracket 50 in a variety of orientations.

We claim:

1. In a drawer structure, the combination of: a front mounting panelhaving a drawer receiving opening therein; a rear mounting panel spacedfrom said front mounting panel; a drawer guide mounted at each side ofsaid front mounting panel adjacent said drawer opening; a front mountingbracket secured to the bottom of said opening intermediate the sidesthereof; a rear mounting bracket secured to said back panel, said rearmounting bracket having a mounting plate and a mounting arm upon saidmounting plate incorporating a track receiving opening, said mountingarm being sprung outwardly with respect to said plate; a roller trackhaving its rear extremity engaged in said opening and wedgingly lockedtherein by the spring action of said arm and having its forwardextremity secured to said front mounting bracket; a drawer disposed insaid drawer receiving opening having side edges and a rear Wall, saidside edges being engaged by said guides; a roller bracket mounted on therear Wall of said drawer; and a roller upon the lower extremity of saidroller bracket engageable with said track.

2. In a drawer structure, the combination of: a front mounting panelhaving a drawer receiving opening therein; a rear mounting panel spacedfrom said front mounting panel; a drawer guide mounted at each side ofsaid front mounting panel adjacent said drawer opening; a front mountingbracket secured to the bottom of said opening intermediate the sidesthereof, said front mounting bracket having a track engaging hookthereupon; a rear mounting bracket secured to said back panel, said rearmounting bracket having a mounting plate and a mounting arm upon saidmounting plate incorporating a track receiving opening, said mountingarm being sprung outwardly with respect to said plate; a roller trackhaving its rear extremity engaged in said opening and wedging lockedtherein by the spring action of said arm and having its forwardextremity secured to said hook on said front mounting bracket; a drawerdisposed in said drawer receiving opening having side edges and a rearwall, said side edges being engaged by said guides; a roller bracketmounted on the rear wall of said drawer; and a roller upon the lowerextremity of said roller bracket engageable with said track.

3. In a drawer slide construction adapted to be utilized in conjunctionwith a front support having a drawer receiving opening and a rearsupport spaced from said front support, the combination of: a trackassembly interposed between said front and rear supports including afront bracket mounted on said front support adjacent said drawerreceiving opening and having a rearwardly extending projectionthereupon, said assembly including a rear bracket secured to said rearsupport and having a mounting plate and a mounting arm on said mountingplate sprung outwardly therefrom and incorporating a track receivingopening, and a roller receiving track constituting a part of saidassembly mounted by an interference fit on the rearwardly extendingprojection of said front bracket and by a wedge interference lit in theopening on said sprung mounting arm; and a pair of guides mounted at theopposite edges of said drawer receiving opening upon said front support,said guides including guide mounts and guide rollers engageable withsaid drawer.

4. In a drawer slide construction adapted to be utilized to mount adrawer for movement between front and rear supports with the frontsupport having a drawer receiving opening therein and the drawerincluding front and back walls, side walls and a bottom, the combinationof a front bracket secured to said front support adjacent said drawerreceiving opening having a rearwardly extending hook thereupon; a rearbracket secured to said rear support including a mounting plate and anoutwardly sprung arm having a track receiving opening therein; a rollerreceiving track having its front extremity engaged upon said hook withan interference iii: and a rear extremity wedgingly engaged in saidopening in said mounting arm of said rear bracket; a roller bracketsecured to the back of said drawer; and a roller supported upon thelower extremity of said roller bracket engaged upon said track.

5. In a drawer slide construction adapted to be utilized to mount adrawer for movement between front and rear supports with the frontsupport having a drawer receiving opening therein and the drawerincluding front and back walls, side walls and a bottom, the combinationof: a front bracket secured to said front support adjacent said drawerreceiving opening having a rearwardly extending hook thereupon; a rearbracket secured to said rear support including a mounting plate and anoutwardly sprung arm having a track receiving opening therein; a trackmounted by an interference fit upon the rearwardly extending hook onsaid front bracket and by a wedging fit in the opening in said sprungarm of said rear bracket, said track incorporating a roller receivingopening having its forward edge spaced from said front support; a rollermounting bracket on the back of said drawer having its lower extremitydepending below the bottom of said drawer and spaced rearwardly of theback of said drawer a distance greater than the distance between saidfront edge of said roller receiving opening and said front support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,488,257 Kirsch Mar. 25, 1924 2,115,049 Suckel Apr. 26, 1938 2,548,850Thexton Apr. 10, 1951 2,587,691 Brewer Mar. 4, 1952 2,948,578 HimelreichAug. 9, 1960 3,015,532 Wilson Jan. 2, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 814,206Germany Sept. 20, 1951

1. IN A DRAWER STRUCTURE, THE COMBINATION OF: A FRONT MOUNTING PANELHAVING A DRAWER RECEIVING OPENING THEREIN; A REAR MOUNTING PANEL SPACEDFROM SAID FRONT MOUNTING PANEL; A DRAWER GUIDE MOUNTED AT EACH SIDE OFSAID FRONT MOUNTING PANEL ADJACENT SAID DRAWER OPENING; A FRONT MOUNTINGBRACKET SECURED TO THE BOTTOM OF SAID OPENING INTERMEDIATE THE SIDESTHEREOF; A REAR MOUNTING BRACKET SECURED TO SAID BACK PANEL, SAID REARMOUNTING BRACKET HAVING A MOUNTING PLATE AND A MOUNTING ARM UPON SAIDMOUNTING PLATE INCORPORATING A TRACK RECEIVING OPENING, SAID MOUNTINGARM BEING SPRUNG OUTWARDLY WITH RESPECT TO SAID PLATE; A ROLLER TRACKHAVING ITS REAR EXTREMITY ENGAGED IN SAID OPENING AND WEDGINGLY LOCKEDTHEREIN BY THE SPRING ACTION OF SAID ARM AND HAVING ITS FORWARDEXTREMITY SECURED TO SAID FRONT MOUNTING BRACKET; A DRAWER DISPOSED INSAID DRAWER RECEIVING OPENING HAVING SIDE EDGES AND A REAR WALL, SAIDSIDE EDGES BEING ENGAGED BY SAID GUIDES; A ROLLER BRACKET MOUNTED ON THEREAR WALL OF SAID DRAWER; AND A ROLLER UPON THE LOWER EXTREMITY OF SAIDROLLER BRACKET ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID TRACK.